Wrestling Struggles in Duals, Excels in Tourney

The Columbia wrestling team was busy over winter break, competing in five duals on the West Coast as well as in the New York State Championships this past weekend. Overall, the results were mixed, with a stellar effort in the state championships helping to offset a 1-4 record in the duals.

The Lions’ win over Stanford on Jan. 10 marked their first dual victory of the season. In that match, Stanford battled back from a large deficit to tie the Light Blue at 18. With the outcome in doubt, sophomore heavyweight Ryan Flores picked up a major decision over Matt Winterbourne to carry the Lions to a 22-18 win.
Despite the victory, Columbia carries a 1-7 record in duals so far this season, and head coach Brendan Buckley sees plenty of room for improvement.

“We’re just young, and we’ve been losing close matches that are within our grasp,” Buckley said. “We must capitalize on our opportunities in the match to get a pin.”

The Lions were finally rewarded for their hard work this past weekend in the New York State Championships, placing third out of 18 teams with two state champions, Flores and senior Derek Sickles. The Light Blue turned out solid performances across the board, with sophomore Eren Civan earning a second-place finish, and third-place finishes from junior Lou Miller and freshmen Kevin Tao and Andrew Grabfelder.

“This past weekend was the kind of performance I knew we were capable of,” Buckley said. “We needed to regain some confidence and that is exactly what we did.” The coach also noted that Tao in particular “made a really big jump this last week” and that Sickles is on pace to earn all-American honors.

Only Buffalo and Army fared better than Columbia at the state championships, and the Lions hope to build off their success this past weekend when they visit American and George Mason on Sunday.

“Our record looks bad right now, but it does not accurately show or portray the talent of our team,” Buckley said. “Every time we step out onto the mat, we go out to win.”